What I want to know is what these people did BEFORE Tenncare. It hasn't been around forever, has it? How did these people survive then? And why can't they do again. The people of 49 other states have made it all along without Tenncare. Why can't ours!?

Jim, you seem to be an overwhelming source of information.
Before Tenncare we had regular Medicare. We(someone with a disability) went to the doctor and was treated and they were paid by programs now called the saftey net, but that was before Gov. Bredesen decided to use us as political tokens. Now the saftey net(that Mr. Bredesen has decided not to fund until next year) is not up to date because there has been no need for it for ten years. The other 49 states have different versions of Medicare, and some of them feel it's necessary to cut them too.
The point is that we have nothing now. Nothing at all, back then there were other choices that had money to pay for help. Now there are none. The Gov. of this state feels that if he can save money and let people die that the ones that are left will re-elect him and he can go on to run for president.

stan you are confusing Medic*are* with Medic*aid*. There's only one version of Medic*are* because it is a federally funded program for over 65's and certain disabled people. Medic*aid* is a federally mandated but state designed program and varies considerably from state to state.

Jim,

I never, apparently like you, depended on the government for my insurance. Then one day came a breakdown in my immune system. Arthritis, MD, Diabetes, Osteoporosis, and several other minor ailments. After working all my life contributing to the economy, three years service in the Army people want to know what I did before TennCare - I WORKED. Why does an insurance policy before TennCare cost about $150.00 and the best quote I have now is $1875.00 on a $1500.00 income. I feel like wishing my health on you but I would not wish this on a dog.

"Why does an insurance policy before TennCare cost about $150.00 and the best quote I have now is $1875.00 on a $1500.00 income"

That, my friend is the real question - and it won't be blamed on Wal-Mart. The 40% annual premium increases have been explained as being due to the uninsured (there weren't any with Tenncare in full bloom), claim costs of "other" customers - but not you of course, you're one of our good ones (meaning you don't cost us anything), and 9-11 (search me...). Insurance companies seem to have lost the ideal that they only exist for the purpose of paying claims. They do not want to insure anyone that is a potential loss or break even venture - and they do not have to. However, when our pooled premium money is used to gamble on the stock market (rather than pay claims) and they lose their shorts, don't expect me to happily refund the nest egg. This has happened in all the insurance industries, not just health, and regardless of the customer's claim rate or pre-existing conditions.
My family currently pays a little over $1000/month for medical insurance- all in perfect health w/ no pre-existing conditions to penalize us.

I was on Tenncare for ten years because I have Cystic Fibrosis. I worked all of those ten years and paid well over a hundred thousand dollars in taxes. I paid a prem. of 35 dollars a month for a 34 year old single adult w/ out children of course. Now that I have to get private health insurance, I could only find one plan that pays anything worth paying for and it will be $387 a month for a bluecross plan. They have a billion dollars in the bank. I guess that's why they could pay for Gov. Bredesen's Mckensey report on Tenncare that is not public, and a new roof on his house also. I figure he will pay them back by giving them the gov. contract on Tenncare when he moves it to a single-payor system.
Thank you John for correcting me on Medicare/Medicaid.

What about the Tenncare situation effect on Bredesen? Did you see today's KnoxNews Sentinel? The TN AFLCIO didn't endorse him but did endorse Harold Ford. Does this mean anything for Bredesen? For the Senate race, it means the Democratic Primary is over. Kurita is done. Her fundraising has failed, her campaign manager has walked out and now the biggest organized Democratic constituency is turning its nose up at her.

One more correction, stan. During those years you paid $35 per month for TennCare, your were paying considerably less than 25% of what private insurance with far less benefits would have cost had you been a standard, insurable risk.

The SimplyBlue guaranteed-issue plan you have selected is quality coverage at a fair price for someone who is not insurable. Be thankful you can afford to buy it...many are not.

yes, you are correct. I am perfectally clear that I have been lucky to have been on Tenncare. I would say it's the reason I am still alive. I would have never been able to get private insurance at all because of my condition at any price.
I don't know for sure what will be covered because they said that I had to pay first and then see what they will cover. They(BlueCross) are taking their time to give me the policy, If they are going to. They denied me once already because of paperwork issues. I applied two months ago and I'm still waiting.
Oh, yes I can't work anymore my PFT's are down to 33(lower than my age) and I can't do anything anymore. I cannot pay, but my family is willing to help me thank God.

TennCare is probably the most misunderstoond socialized program ever created. We have 1.4 million people on TennCare. About 800,000 qualified for the old Medicaid program. That means 800,000 are sick enough or poor enough to qualify under the old Medicaid. However, 600,000 are neither sick enough nor poor enough to qualify under the old medicaid program.

Breseden proposed cutting about 200,000 people from TennCare. None of these 200,00 people are from the sickest or poorest 800,000 that qualified for the old medicaid program. These 200,000 were these least sick and the least poor of the 600,000 that didn't qualify for the medicaid program. Now, Bredesen is debating putting half of those 200,000 back on TennCare. By next November, 2006, Bredesen will put all of them back on TennCare.

The real question is not who is entitled. No one is entitled to free healthcare. This is socialism pure and simple.

TennCare is based upon the principle that if I need someone else's hard earned money more than they need it, then I am entitled to take their hard earned money to pay for my medical bills, food stamps, section 8 housing or other socialized entitlement. In other words, need is given a higher moral authority to take assets than the people who earned it.

Mercy and grace have no part in such a socialized society. There is nothing voluntary about the government taking your money to build a socialized medical program. Few of the recipients are grateful. All the ones I hear from demand their rights and their entitlements to have others pay for their problems.

Karl Marx's maxim of "From each according to his ability to each according to his need" has found life in TennCare.

Those that believe in pursing "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" must now submit their freedom, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness to those that need your assets and income more than you.

God help us.

-Chris Clem

God help you that you never get sick and need help from anyone else.

Dear Clem,
Sadly, you are mistaken. Many of the sickest and poorest have indeed been cut. If you make more than 570.00 dollars a month and were on TennCare, you were not eligable for Medicaid.

I was going to hold this info until tomorrow to post on my blog, but I'll share it with you now. There are already two confirmed deaths as a direct result of Bredesen's TennCare cuts. There will be many many more. What this Governor has done is give the death penalty to innocent people--pulled their lifelines.

I am physically documenting these deaths and will continue to do so. Three people have me in their living wills to cover their funerals so maybe they can stop Bredesen from killing other innoncent people and make their deaths mean something.

It is utterly ghoulish, and it is not something I want to, but it is something I have to do. I will be releasing the next edited version of my documentary, 323,000, before the '06 election.

Bredesen broke my heart. I believed in him. I voted for him. I worked on his campaign. He looked me in the eyes and told me he would fix TennCare and something like this couldn't happen. I take no joy in going after him. But, he's knowingly made a decision that is killing people.

It's happening, and you better believe it, and if you don't, well, the camera doesn't lie...funerals and death certificates and causes listed on them don't lie. He already has blood on his hands, and if he doesn't stop these draconian cuts, many more will die.

Sharon Cobb

What would be these persons' situation had TennCare never been created? Not taking sides. I'm sincerely interested in what they would have done if they had not qualified for Medicaid before?